Of course, the Boston Red Sox had to quickly bring me back to Earth with some terrible news today: new closer Andrew Bailey will be out 3-4 months after thumb surgery.
So yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing the sport of baseball, mostly because it symbolizes summer and nice weather. I still feel exactly the same about the Red Sox as I did in October. They have so much to prove to make me or countless millions of people more interested in their needless drama.
Bobby Valentine being Bobby V, he won't admit who will close games now but most sources think it will be another newcomer: former Astros closer Mark Melancon. It doesn't make sense to throw Daniel Bard in that role since he's been groomed as a starter all spring and Alfredo Aceves is too versatile to pigeon hole him there as well.
In other thumb news, Josh Beckett is also getting his right thumb looked at but apparently the Texas toughguy will be healthy enough to start on Saturday in Detroit. I'll believe it when I see it because he's the biggest fraud currently playing professional sports in Boston.
The Red Sox open their 2012 season on Thursday afternoon as Jon Lester takes on AL MVP Justin Verlander. The teams will play three games in Motown this weekend. If I can stomach it or be bothered, I will do a more lengthy preview tomorrow night.
UPDATE 4/4: Valentine confirmed today that Alfredo Aceves will be the closer. Not who I wanted but I'm sure he'll do a good job. The bigger issue that move creates is who will cover all the innings he pitched out of the bullpen in a variety of roles?
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